Over the life of "Drunk History," its host, director, and
executive producer Derek Waters has sat through nearly 100 boozy
narrations. Each one looks hilarious and fun on television, but
are naturally filled with challenges while taping.

"I’ve figured out certain techniques," Waters
told Business Insider. "If you’ve ever hung out with someone
that drinks, you know that emotions can happen, attitudes can
happen."

"Drunk History" returns on Tuesday for its third year on
Comedy Central (five years overall if you count its Funny Or Die
run). Each episode features three stories told by inebriated
narrators and reenacted by performers. And, yes, the answer to
the most-asked question about "Drunk History"
is the narrators are really drunk.

The show is so fun to watch that a who's who of Hollywood's
A-List have appeared on the series, including Jack
Black, Connie Britton, Michael Cera, Courteney Cox, Laura Dern,
John Lithgow, Jason Ritter, Winona Ryder, Kristen Wiig, Luke
Wilson, and Owen Wilson.

"We’re trying to make a history show, not a
comedy show," Waters said. "And it just so happens that comedy
comes out of the way we’re trying to tell the history."

But when BI points out the combination of the
drunk narrators, the over-the-top costumes, and stylized
reenactments, Waters admits, "OK, we're definitely going for
comedy, too."

One narration session can take between four and six hours to
shoot. And with the inherent hiccups that can occur, Waters
has come up with some best practices when it comes to
shooting the sessions.

Jake Johnson as William
Travis and Chris Parnell as Jim Bowie on the "Wild West" episode
of "Drunk History."Comedy
Central

1. Bring on people Waters has already tossed a few back with, so
he knows what to expect."I’m very cautious of that," he said. "Most of
the people on the show I drink with, so I know how they’re going
to be. If I know someone who is really funny but has a problem, I
don’t approach them. I just don’t mess with that."

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Comedy Central

2. Narrators are asked not to
drink before the crew arrives."So you don’t get too drunk," Waters
said. "I’m not trying to be like,
‘Look how drunk they are!’ I’m trying to tell history in a new
way and not just because they’re, say, upside down
talking."

5. There's always another job for lightweights."I don’t want people to get sick," Waters said.
"I don’t want people to fall. I also don’t want them to tell a
regular story. They have to be a little slurred and a little
messed up or we should just watch the history channel. So, no one
is drinking for the first time. But if someone is like, ‘Yeah, I
don’t drink that much, but I love the show.’ Then, ok, maybe they
can be in the reenactment."

So, yes, the show can be more complicated than it looks on TV.
And as it embarks on its third season, there's some proof that
people are taking notice of the hard work. This year, it earned
an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.

"It feels like this little thing I did for fun, but the more I
grew with it, the more I wanted to say I have a chance to say
something right now," Waters said of the nom. "What do I want to
say? Maybe, I can tell stories that teach people stuff. So, to
have the Academy recognize that it's not just a comedy show, it's
something new and different, I just take it as a really sweet
compliment."

The third season of "Drunk History" debuts Tuesday at 10:30
p.m. on Comedy Central.